Notre Dame Fighting Irish lacrosse (RPI #8, 6-5) meet the Duke Blue Devils (RPI #3, 12-2) in the ACC semi-final this evening in Charlottesville, 6:00 pm ESPNU.  It would be fair to describe this game as a must-win for the Irish.

This appears to be the 10th time in 5 years these teams have played.  The teams played each other in a dissappointing 2-8 loss a few weeks ago in South bend.

The Past

The game in South Bend had a number of features that do not make it much of an indicator of what to expect in Charlottesville.  Top scorers Gleason and Costabile did not play, and seldom-used players were inserted into their places.  The Irish offense looked bad, but the absence of key players certainly had a lot to do with it.  When the Duke defense can fully commit its best two defensemen to pound Garnsey and Wynne into dust, stopping the Notre Dame offense is easy, as was observed.

Less excusable was the one-sided account in ground balls and turnovers.  Even if they were playing with a full roster, it would have been exceedingly difficult do win with such a self-inflicted possession disadvantage.

The positive takeaways from that game were that the defense held Guterding & Co. to what should have been a very manageable total.  To the extent Duke was able to score, it was largely by taking advantage of Irish turnovers and catching offensive midfielders on the defensive end.  Further, Travisano had a clear edge in the faceoff battle.

The Present

“Score more goals,” as we’ve read and heard in most commentary, is not much of a plan.  In the last five matchups, Duke has averaged 8 goals, with a maximum of 11, scored in overtime in the 2016 ACC semi-final.  This suggests that if the Irish can get to double-digits they likely win.  Any goal less substantially increases the challenge.

What we’ll look for to see if they’re on target:

  • Turnovers.  The Irish average an unacceptably high 15 turnovers a game, and have been remarkably consistent in this unfortunate department.  At this point in the season, they may be in Bill Parcell’s “you are what you are” territory, but to beat Duke they have to shave a few off this number.  We’ll have a good idea if what is to come if they avoid sailing passes over each other’s head in the first few possessions.  Further, reducing turnovers reduces the chance Byrne, Collins, etc., get caught on defense covering Guterding (a real problem in the earlier game).
  • Pressure from midfielders.  By this we mean forcing Van Raaphorst and Giles-Harris to respect their help roles.  If they are allowed to simply lock down Garnsey and Wynne, it will be a long day.  Costabile, Gleason, Collins, Byrne, Drake, etc., need to make the close defenders respect their dodging and hedge to them.
  • Junk.  Whether it is transition, a turnover off the ride, or other surprise goal, the Irish will need one or two of these.  Plus the second midfield now has experience they didn’t have in the game in South Bend.  A goal or two from McNamara, Gaiss or Walter will be extremely valuable.
  • Go to the new plays.  The past few weeks have shown the Irish have a few new plays that can be effective, from Byrne inverting with Garnsey high, to ND-Atl 2.0’s favorite, the butt-first pick to free Garnsey.  The offense stagnates when they repeatedly start from the same set they have been relying on for the past few years.  They play Duke way too often to think they don’t know how to lock this setup down.

We haven’t mentioned the defense.  They will do what they do, and will focus on Guterding first, and then Smith, Robertson and Conley.  They performed well a few weeks ago, more of the same is what we hope for, and if all goes right, a huge day like we saw last year in this game.

The Future

Syracuse plays Virginia in the second semi-final. Winner to take on the the victor of Notre Dame-Duke.  So as to not tempt karma, we’ll refrain from discussing it further.  The Irish have enough on their plate with this must-win game tonight.

Odds-and-Ends

  • We hope Schantz recovered from the hit that took him out of the game against UNC.  Likewise, it did not go unnoticed that Drake did not play that game.  If it was injury-related, we hope he has recovered.
  • Huge recognition in the All-ACC selections:  Gleason, Costabile, Sexton, Shantz, and Millican all recognized!  What we are most excited about is that the entire defensive midfield has recognized for their play, a point which we have been making since minute one of this season!
  • More Sexton accolades as he was recognized in the 25 player final list for the Tewaaraton Award.  A nice writeup on his season so far from Tyler Testin.
  • Last year @NDLaxManagers went with a mix-and-match uniform look for the ACC Championships.  What will they come up with tonight?

#GoIrish